Fox Hunt
by turbomagnus
Summary: Former-DTI Agent Dulmer is considered insane for claiming to 'see' alternate realities and locked up, but someone's come hunting for him.


Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 30 July.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: Paramount, CBS, et cetera own Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and all associated characters, locations and situations. Said characters and situations are being used without permission or intent to profit, merely for entertainment purposes. Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios own Star Trek Online and associated characters and situations, the STO novel "The Needs of The Many" is the creation and property of Michael A. Martin...

Though if you've read one of my earlier stories in another fandom, one of the characters who appear here will be familiar...

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"Fox Hunt"

By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

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* * *

"Oh, no, it's you..." the psychiatric nurse rolled his eyes as soon as he set them upon the man standing in the hallway.

"Hello again to you too, Q," the other being answered.

"Dare I ask what you're doing here?" the disguised omnipotent being groaned, "Planning to recruit the patient for your little club, I assume?"

"You know what they say about 'assuming', Q," the other being taunted.

"Oh, please," Q scoffed, "Spare me your infantile drollery. You're here to take away one of the few sources of amusement I have left on this mundane little plane of existance, ever since all my favorite people managed to get themselves out of their captain's chairs."

"Maybe it's a sign you should go see what your son's been up to while you've been playing nurse," came the retort.

"I don't care what you say," Q replied petulantly, folding his arms, "I'm not going to move..."

"Q..."

"What?" Q snapped, only to be the sudden receipient of a right hook that knocked him to the floor.

"Sisko's method still works," the other being smirked as they stepped over Q and into the patient's room.

Marion Francis Dulmer, formerly of the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations, looked up at the newcomer, "Who are you?"

"People always ask me that," the newcomer said with a smirk still on his face, "You know what I tell them?"

"Obviously not since this is the first time we've met in my personal timestream," Dulmer pointed out.

"That I am who I am... but they - and you - may call me 'The Author'," the now-designated 'Author' answered, "A descriptive term rather than a name, but accurate. I write."

"Let me guess," Dulmer frowned, "Here to write a paper about the delusional little time agent?"

"On the contrary..." 'The Author' shook his head and leaned back against the wall next to the door, "Tell me, Agent Dulmer, are you familiar with 'Quantum Realities'?"

Dulmer sighed, "'Quantum Reality' is a term used to descript an alternate timestream created by everyday changes in the timeline. It's the little things that cause them, hence the term 'quantum'; block an attack and stagger from the force, you end up taking second place in a tournament on Forca III... dodge the attack and use the opening to land one of your own and you walk away Champion Standing. What about them?"

"Suppose I tell you that you're not alone? That you're not the only one who can percieve those different timestreams? That throughout not just alternate timestreams but entirely different realities, there are those men and women who, like yourself, have been blessed and cursed by the 'Fox Effect'."

Dulmer looked at the other man, "This isn't a joke, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"History is... was my job. I'm quite familiar with history and its little quirks; Francis Marion, 'The Swamp Fox', Marion Francis Dulmer, 'the Fox Effect'... if you're trying to be funny, you're failing horribly."

"Hm..." the other man raised his eyebrows, "That association never occured to me. The 'Fox Effect' is named after Gardner Fox, the first confirmed person with the ability back in the twentieth century."

"So where do you and I come in, Mister 'The Author'?" Dulmer asked with calm born of seeing too much.

"Consider this a recruitment drive," 'The Author' answered, "When people with the ability to 'tune in' to other realities began to encounter one another, eventually many of us decided to work together to observe, record, and in times of great crisis, assist if need be."

"I see," Dulmer remarked, "And who determines what 'times of great crisis' are?"

"Generally, it's only when something or someone starts stepping outside their own timelines and into other realities that we interfere. You've heard the old saying that 'the only thing worse than fighting them would be not fighting them'? That's generally our rule of thumb."

"In other words, you're a group of cowboys," Dulmer narrowed his eyes.

"Not as many as you might think. Most of us would be just as happy staying home and 'watching' other universes making fools of themselves," 'The Author' shook his head, "Forget it, I didn't come here to debate some kind of 'Dimensional Prime Directive' with you. I came to offer you a place with us. If you don't want it and would rather stay here and enjoy your 'I love me' jacket, that's fine."

"Tell me, what's in it for you?"

"An extra set of hands, extra set of eyes," 'The Author' shrugged, "You get out of here. You decide if it balances out."

'The Author' turned to leave, only for Dulmer to call out, "Will I learn to control this... 'Fox Effect'?"

"I can't promise that; some can, some can't."

Dulmer nodded as much to himself as to 'The Author', "Better than being stuck in here; get me out of this jacket and let's go."

* * *

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Author's Note, Supplemental; Someone commented on the fact that the 'Fox Effect' sounded like what Dulmer experiences, I'm nothing if not adaptable...


End file.
